Back to altitude

This past summer, Ali and I spent a week in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was a good time and we did the typical things that a vacation in Flag might entail. We stayed in the center of town, at the historic (and supposedly haunted) Hotel Monte Vista. We hiked in the Grand Canyon, but not too far down because of the heat. We spent a day biking and shopping in Sedona. We saw a herd of wild elk while hiking on Flag's urban trail network. We explored many of the local restaurants. And we climbed Humphreys Peak.

Humphreys was our main goal, although I was quietly skeptical about our chances for success. It rises to 12,600' over a gentle 9.6 mile trail which begins at just over 9,000'. I'd previously been to 14,000', but not for many years, and Ali had never hiked above 10,000'. Neither of us was in the best physical condition (fortunately we've both since turned that around), and going from sea level to 12,000' with only a few days to get used to half that height (Flag is at 7,000') is no mean feat. After steaming up the Grand with surprising stamina earlier in the week, our confidence grew.

We started out early in the day, feeling a bit woozy even at the trailhead. My thought was to take it slowly and steadily. I was concerned that if we pushed too hard, we'd become altitude-sick and be unable to recover. The trail was stunning and it didn't feel at all like the Arizona we'd come to know. We picked up a lone hiker from Canada along the way. He'd been hiking in Colorado, so he had an edge on us, but he apparently wanted company so he kept our pace. We both got on-and-off headaches and Ali had a short bout of nausea. We kept guzzling water and managed to push those effects back. This was my first time at altitude without taking Diamox, which prevents altitude sickness. I wanted to see what it'd be like, but I think I'll have it with me next time.

Before we knew it, we were standing on the summit. It was quite an accomplishment (esp. given that I was 25 lbs. heavier than I am today!). We met some cool folks up top and hung out for awhile before dashing back down to tree-line when we saw the afternoon thunderheads rolling in. The trail itself wasn't too challenging; it was the altitude. I'd rate the trail as moderate if it were in NH's White Mountains; maybe similar to the Garfield Trail. The altitude adds a lot to the mix. All in all, it was a great hike and I highly recommend it.